#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[Granath]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

[Jon]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the beginning of the end for Roger Goodell.  He was already the most inept commissioner that any pro sports league had seen in a long time.  And now his flubbing of this, coupled with the loss of his strongest ally in Kraft, could spell the end for him.

And it's not even entirely about the decision that he made (though I think that's horribly misguided), it's the way he handled it. 

Adam Silver may have ultimately come to the same decision as Goodell; but even if he did, he would have done it in a much more straightforward and direct manner that reflected his role as the leader of the league.  He wouldn't have hid behind others and danced around the issue like Goodell. 

[PhoSita]

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Because everybody knows when there is no conviction, there definitely was no rape or any kind of inappropriate sexual conduct.  None.  Totally baseless.

Especially when charges are dropped or never brought in the first place.  That means the woman actually wanted it.  Common knowledge.

Sorry, not trying to derail the thread, but that's asinine and it is an issue of personal significance to me.


I hate this argument that football related misconduct, no matter how minor, should be punished more severely than off the field stuff.  As if the league shouldn't care what sort of people it employs or how they represent the brand.  As if the league has no responsibility for how its players act.

[Donoghus]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

I'm not exactly sure they were baseless but I digress....

[PhoSita]

I wouldn't be surprised if this is the beginning of the end for Roger Goodell.  He was already the most inept commissioner that any pro sports league had seen in a long time.  And now his flubbing of this, coupled with the loss of his strongest ally in Kraft, could spell the end for him.

And it's not even entirely about the decision that he made (though I think that's horribly misguided), it's the way he handled it. 

Adam Silver may have ultimately come to the same decision as Goodell; but even if he did, he would have done it in a much more straightforward and direct manner that reflected his role as the leader of the league.  He wouldn't have hid behind others and danced around the issue like Goodell.

Yeah.  Rich Levine wrote about this on CSNNE - at some point the owners will have to think, well, if we are making so much money with this buffoon, how much would we make with a guy who is actually competent?

[Eja117]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Ben got 4-6 games (knocked down to 4 for going to counseling) but Brady got 4 games AND his team got a million dollars AND loss of draft picks. So yes Brady got punished worse. Further it was Ben's 2nd sticky situation like this so the repeat offender card existed too. The punishment he got was that his conduct was not remotely close to the expectations of an NFL football player.  His excuse of "consensual" (because we all post guards outside doors to get it on with completely drunk women in bathrooms when we're doing consensual stuff) is far less believable than Tom saying "I didn't tell anyone to deflate any balls". It's not close.

[Moranis]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Ben got 4-6 games (knocked down to 4 for going to counseling) but Brady got 4 games AND his team got a million dollars AND loss of draft picks. So yes Brady got punished worse. Further it was Ben's 2nd sticky situation like this so the repeat offender card existed too. The punishment he got was that his conduct was not remotely close to the expectations of an NFL football player.  His excuse of "consensual" (because we all post guards outside doors to get it on with completely drunk women in bathrooms when we're doing consensual stuff) is far less believable than Tom saying "I didn't tell anyone to deflate any balls". It's not close.

one involves the integrity of the game and wasn't awhile ago.

[Eja117]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Ben got 4-6 games (knocked down to 4 for going to counseling) but Brady got 4 games AND his team got a million dollars AND loss of draft picks. So yes Brady got punished worse. Further it was Ben's 2nd sticky situation like this so the repeat offender card existed too. The punishment he got was that his conduct was not remotely close to the expectations of an NFL football player.  His excuse of "consensual" (because we all post guards outside doors to get it on with completely drunk women in bathrooms when we're doing consensual stuff) is far less believable than Tom saying "I didn't tell anyone to deflate any balls". It's not close.

one involves the integrity of the game and wasn't awhile ago.

I think selling posters, fatheads, and jerseys of a rapist to kids is an integrity issue. If this were truly an integrity of the game issue the NFL would be spending 5 mill to investigate Aaron Rodgers.

Tom has been caught being guilty of one thing.....QWP......Quarterbacking While Patriot.

[D.o.s.]

I just don't see this as the response an innocent man gives when asked about the Wells report

"I don’t have really any reaction, Jim. Our owner commented on it yesterday. It’s only been 30 hours so I haven’t had much time to digest it fully. But when I do I will be sure to let you know how I feel about it, and everybody else."

It seems to me that if I did nothing wrong, the first, and maybe only thing, out of my mouth is some sort of profession of innocence.  Not some garbage about it only being 30 hours and not having time to digest it and that I'll comment when I do.  Digest what.  Either you did something wrong or you didn't.  You shouldn't need to digest anything.  That speaks volumes about Brady's guilt in my mind.

It's just that the NFL is using anything Brady says against him. If he says "I didn't do anything" and then they find a text that says "You know how I like em" it won't matter if he's talking about balls or burgers. 4 game suspension. Lose a million bucks and a draft pick. Oh and now he's a liar too.
They aren't giving Brady any benefit of the doubt or anything. They aren't taking him at his word so why does he owe them any words? Why should Brady have to go around professing his innocence when other QBs are going around freely admitting to knowingly doing what he did or worse?

I'm done with the Patriots explaining themselves. It's time for the NFL and others to do the explaining. Why do you not care about what Rodgers said? Why do you not care about Brad Johnson? Why did Ray Rice get 2 games for a violent crime and Brady gets 4? Why did Ray Lewis get nothing for interfering in a murder trial? Why did the Vikings get nothing? Why did the Chargers get a 20K fine? Why did the Jets get nothing when they were caught video taping AFTER spygate?  Why isn't Anderson in trouble for clearly not following protocol? At what point does Brady have a right to privacy?

Brady purposefully set up an interview with Jim Gray.  And that was Brady's answer.  This wasn't part of the investigation and Brady didn't have do the interview, but if you intentionally do a voluntary interview and that is your answer to the question, it says volumes.

Nobody sets up an interview where no questions are asked and none answered.

Clearly you don't watch the NBA's sideline interview with the head coaches.

[PhoSita]

one involves the integrity of the game and wasn't awhile ago.

The problem is that "integrity of the game" is such a vague term.

Arguably, the Patriots affected the integrity of the game a lot worse by fooling around with eligible receivers and catching the Ravens off guard in the Divisional Round.  Where's the punishment for that?

Yet, it's hard to even measure what effect, if any, the supposedly underinflated balls had on the game in question here.

The report does not come close to definitively proving that Tom didn't simply instruct his ball attendants to let air out of the footballs -- to a point within the range described by the rules -- after the refs had handled them, because the refs often give the Pats balls that are OVERinflated.

Exactly how does that affect the integrity of the game?


Meanwhile, you know what affects the integrity of the league, and the game the league provides to the public as entertainment? 

The behavior of its players, who all too often act as if they are gods among men off the field.  The NFL peddles a violent game that seems to frequently produce players who inflict violence on other people off of the field.  That's a much bigger deal, in my book.

[Donoghus]

one involves the integrity of the game and wasn't awhile ago.

The problem is that "integrity of the game" is such a vague term.

I would definitely agree with this.  What does "integrity" real mean to the league?  It seems to contradict itself, in regards to the term, at every turn.

[Moranis]

one involves the integrity of the game and wasn't awhile ago.

The problem is that "integrity of the game" is such a vague term.

Arguably, the Patriots affected the integrity of the game a lot worse by fooling around with eligible receivers and catching the Ravens off guard in the Divisional Round.  Where's the punishment for that?

Yet, it's hard to even measure what effect, if any, the supposedly underinflated balls had on the game in question here.

The report does not come close to definitively proving that Tom didn't simply instruct his ball attendants to let air out of the footballs -- to a point within the range described by the rules -- after the refs had handled them, because the refs often give the Pats balls that are OVERinflated.

Exactly how does that affect the integrity of the game?


Meanwhile, you know what affects the integrity of the league, and the game the league provides to the public as entertainment? 

The behavior of its players, who all too often act as if they are gods among men off the field.  The NFL peddles a violent game that seems to frequently produce players who inflict violence on other people off of the field.  That's a much bigger deal, in my book.

It may very well be, but it doesn't actually have any outcome at all on the game.  That is the point I was making (it is also why I wouldn't suspend players for off the field conduct - though certainly as an owner of a team might very well release the player if the conduct started hurting my bottom line, which is why I had no problem with the Ravens releasing Rice, I just don't think he should have been suspended).  I have no idea if deflating footballs really affects the outcome of a game, but I suspect there is some benefit or it wouldn't have happened.  Now sure it didn't affect the outcome of the AFC Title game which was a blowout, but it certainly might have affected the outcome of the game against the Ravens the week before, which was a very close game.  And you are probably right the weird substitution thing probably had a greater affect on that game, but that was at the time legal (it isn't now).  Deflating footballs below the allowed limit is against the rules and needs to be punished.  I also get that it isn't clear the Patriots intentionally broke the rules, but it seems clear they wanted those footballs as low as possible, and when you constantly skate the line between legal and illegal and then aren't entirely forthcoming in the investigation, you are going to get hit hard. 

[Granath]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Ben got 4-6 games (knocked down to 4 for going to counseling) but Brady got 4 games AND his team got a million dollars AND loss of draft picks. So yes Brady got punished worse. Further it was Ben's 2nd sticky situation like this so the repeat offender card existed too. The punishment he got was that his conduct was not remotely close to the expectations of an NFL football player.  His excuse of "consensual" (because we all post guards outside doors to get it on with completely drunk women in bathrooms when we're doing consensual stuff) is far less believable than Tom saying "I didn't tell anyone to deflate any balls". It's not close.

Here's the problem with your assumption (and PhoSita's). There was no DNA evidence. A rape (which by the way is a LEGAL term and therefore not appropriate here) or even consensual sex would leave DNA traces. That's the case right there and the very reason charges were not filed. When you boil it down - with the accuser initially denying a rape took place, constantly changing stories, no cameras, no DNA evidence, no witnesses, no corroboration and the fact she was severely impaired - this had about as much substance as the Tawana Brawley case, the Duke Lacrosse or the recent UVA rape story. This isn't the place to hash all of the evidence in that case, but it's about as unfounded of an accusation as you can possibly get. For that Ben was suspended 6 games. Brady got 4. When grading the punishments for those two players, Ben's was longer. Why? Because it looked bad and it hurt the NFL image, regardless of what was actually done or (considerably more likely) not done.

They came for Ben because it made the NFL look bad. They came for the Saints because of the concussions lawsuits. They came for Ray Rice AGAIN because of Goodell's own screw up for letting him off too lightly in the first place. They came for Adrian Peterson  because of the Rice scandal. They came for the Redskins and the Cowboys for supposed cap violations in an uncapped year. Every one of these could be - and probably should be - seen as unjust overreactions. Kraft, Brady and the Patriot's fan base didn't **** about any of those. So now Kraft, Brady and many Patriots fans are whining about this. Too bad. Welcome to the club, donuts and drinks are on the left.

As for your opinions, you are entitled to them. But they are the irrational and illogical rantings of a homer. You point the finger at everyone else, demand answers and then dismiss the answers because you don't like them. Every single thing the Patriots say or do is taken as gospel and everything everyone else says is a half-truth or mis-truth. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. You really shouldn't be so vested in this that you can't objectively analyze the situation. It's just a sports team and getting that worked up can't be good for your health.

[Eja117]

Well, the only way I as a fan can protest this is to stop watching NFL games.  Giving some serious thought to that.  I like college football more anyway, though I admit that the NCAA is probably at least as bad as Goodell.

While I applaud your sentiment, why would you protest this and not the Big Ben suspension, the Saints' bountygate, the Ray Rice screw up and a host of other Goodell overreaches? What makes this one special? Was it because it finally happened to your team?

It was Bountygate that turned me off from the NFL and I have no love for the Saints. It was yet another example of Goodell trying to make someone a scapegoat for his own failures as a commish. I haven't watched the Super Bowl the past two years. I never even turned on an NFL game on the TV last year. Last year was the first time that no one in my family got NFL merchandise for Christmas. And it all has to do with how the league is run.

The only sports merchandise purchased last year was a Celtics cap!

Those suspensions had the opposite problem, which was that they weren't long enough. Are we actually at the point now where we compare Tom Brady to a rapist (more likely than not folks...twice), and guy that knocked out his wife on video, and guys getting paid to hurt people circumventing the salary cap?

Is that really happening now? Yes. Yes it is. Which is why the rest of the league should have an asterisk next to what they do. There's just no league integrity. The only place that has it is Foxboro and they aren't angels.

That your first reaction is to call someone a rapist shows how very little objectivity or clarity of thought you have. But please feel free to go on ranting illogically because it is quite amusing to see you jump at conspiracy theories.

The league is not out to get the Patriots. Foxboro is not a beautiful, unique snowflake. The Patriots have been caught cheating - again. Deal with it.

I'm not allowed to compare Tom Brady's suspension for deflating balls to Big Ben's less bad suspension for being a rapist? Because I'm not objective?

Because there was no rape. Thanks for playing, please try again.

PS - Ben got more games for a baseless accusation for rape than the Brady suspension. You're not very good at this, are you?

Ben got 4-6 games (knocked down to 4 for going to counseling) but Brady got 4 games AND his team got a million dollars AND loss of draft picks. So yes Brady got punished worse. Further it was Ben's 2nd sticky situation like this so the repeat offender card existed too. The punishment he got was that his conduct was not remotely close to the expectations of an NFL football player.  His excuse of "consensual" (because we all post guards outside doors to get it on with completely drunk women in bathrooms when we're doing consensual stuff) is far less believable than Tom saying "I didn't tell anyone to deflate any balls". It's not close.

Here's the problem with your assumption (and PhoSita's). There was no DNA evidence. A rape (which by the way is a LEGAL term and therefore not appropriate here) or even consensual sex would leave DNA traces. That's the case right there and the very reason charges were not filed. When you boil it down - with the accuser initially denying a rape took place, constantly changing stories, no cameras, no DNA evidence, no witnesses, no corroboration and the fact she was severely impaired - this had about as much substance as the Tawana Brawley case, the Duke Lacrosse or the recent UVA rape story. This isn't the place to hash all of the evidence in that case, but it's about as unfounded of an accusation as you can possibly get. For that Ben was suspended 6 games. Brady got 4. When grading the punishments for those two players, Ben's was longer. Why? Because it looked bad and it hurt the NFL image, regardless of what was actually done or (considerably more likely) not done.

They came for Ben because it made the NFL look bad. They came for the Saints because of the concussions lawsuits. They came for Ray Rice AGAIN because of Goodell's own screw up for letting him off too lightly in the first place. They came for Adrian Peterson  because of the Rice scandal. They came for the Redskins and the Cowboys for supposed cap violations in an uncapped year. Every one of these could be - and probably should be - seen as unjust overreactions. Kraft, Brady and the Patriot's fan base didn't **** about any of those. So now Kraft, Brady and many Patriots fans are whining about this. Too bad. Welcome to the club, donuts and drinks are on the left.

As for your opinions, you are entitled to them. But they are the irrational and illogical rantings of a homer. You point the finger at everyone else, demand answers and then dismiss the answers because you don't like them. Every single thing the Patriots say or do is taken as gospel and everything everyone else says is a half-truth or mis-truth. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. You really shouldn't be so vested in this that you can't objectively analyze the situation. It's just a sports team and getting that worked up can't be good for your health.

I can see how the texts look incriminating. So give them a punishment similar to the punishments other teams have gotten. I don't see what is irrational about that.

Also I see a huge difference between Burger (who got it knocked down to 4 games) and UVA. Burger admitted something happened....hence...consensual. He wants us to believe she was totally drunk and consensually had sex with him in a bathroom with a guard there and that this is the 2nd time something like this has happened to him. I find that far harder to believe than Brady stating he never told anyone to cheat.

I don't understand why as a homer I am irrational and sad for wanting the Patriots to be treated like other teams that don't get punished almost at all when they are caught red handed.

[PhoSita]

  I also get that it isn't clear the Patriots intentionally broke the rules, but it seems clear they wanted those footballs as low as possible, and when you constantly skate the line between legal and illegal and then aren't entirely forthcoming in the investigation, you are going to get hit hard.

Just to be clear, you're saying that when other people suspect that you might be doing something wrong, but it isn't clear that you did something wrong, and then you don't 100% cooperate with the investigation (witch hunt, some might say) that you have some right to feel is unwarranted, that makes you 100% guilty as far as league discipline is concerned? 

You're saying that, on its own, warrants not just a fine, or losing a late round pick, but a huge penalty?


Also, not only is it not clear that the Patriots intentionally broke the rule regarding inflation of footballs, it's far from clear that they actually broke the rule at all.  The inflation measurements by the referee just cannot be trusted in light of the issues with his recollection and the shoddy measurement and recording procedures the NFL has in place.  There have been plenty of in depth arguments made providing a solid basis for thinking the balls may have been properly inflated in the first place. 

As I said above, that doesn't require you to believe that McNally didn't let any air out of the balls.  The Pats could have gotten them overinflated, and then McNally could have taken them to the restroom and deflated them to the lower end of the legal range.